Swedes really do get money from the state while they study, but most of it is a loan, and the door is narrower for foreigners than the rumor suggests. Here is how CSN works, who qualifies, and what the loan means once you leave.
When you need this
You’re working in Sweden as an EU citizen or permit holder and want to go back to school. You’re an international or exchange student and a classmate told you Swedish students “get paid to study”. You have a residence permit and want to know if it’s the right kind. Or you borrowed from CSN and you’re about to move abroad.
One correction first: if a guide tells you to apply for studiestartsstöd, it’s out of date. That grant was abolished on 1 January 2026.
What studiemedel is
CSN (Centrala studiestödsnämnden, the Swedish Board of Student Finance) runs student finance under the Student Finance Act. For university and adult students the support is studiemedel, and the law defines it as two parts:
| Part | Swedish | What happens to it | Full-time, per week (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant | studiebidrag | Yours to keep | SEK 1,030 |
| Loan | studielån | Repaid with interest | SEK 2,368 |
Both are set as percentages of the national price base amount (prisbasbelopp), so they rise each January. Full-time studiemedel is 5.74% of that amount per week, and 1.74 percentage points of it is grant. In other words, about 70% of the money is loan. You can take the grant alone; the loan is optional.
The system follows the student, not the household: your parents’ income plays no part, and support can run until the year you turn 60. At university you can get at most 240 full-time weeks. Students at compulsory and upper-secondary level, for example in komvux (municipal adult education), can get a higher grant share of the same total. Money arrives on the 25th, in advance for the coming study month (see payday on the 25th).
Who can get it as a non-Swede
This is where most foreign readers get a no. Studiemedel goes to Swedish citizens. A foreign citizen must normally pass both of these tests:
- Live in Sweden with a permanent residence permit (permanent uppehållstillstånd), and
- Have settled in Sweden mainly for a reason other than studying.
The second test is the one that rules out international and exchange students, whatever their permit says. If you came to Sweden for your degree or exchange, you moved here to study, so you don’t qualify. That is why non-EU students pay their own way, including tuition fees, and why exchange students plan their budget without CSN.
The law lists other routes that skip the permanent-permit requirement:
| Your situation | Can you get studiemedel? |
|---|---|
| Swedish citizen | Yes |
| Permanent residence permit, living in Sweden, didn’t move here to study | Yes |
| EU/EEA worker or self-employed in Sweden, and family | Yes, treated like a Swede |
| EU citizen with permanent right of residence (normally after five years’ legal residence) | Yes |
| Granted international protection | Yes |
| Ukrainian temporary protection | Yes from 1 January 2026, after the first twelve months of permit time |
| Family member of an EU citizen with a lasting connection, such as two years of at least half-time work | Yes |
| Time-limited permit as the family member of a work-permit holder | Normally no |
| Residence permit for studies, or exchange student | No |
| Asylum seeker who has never had a Swedish permit | No |
If your temporary permit expires during your studies, support continues as long as you applied to extend it on a qualifying basis before the old one ran out. Why a time-limited work permit doesn’t open CSN is covered in work permits for non-EU citizens.
Warning: The permanent-permit route is under review. A government inquiry (SOU 2025:99) proposes changing permanent residence permits, and CSN has told the government it could not apply new rules before 1 January 2028. If your plan depends on a future permanent permit, check CSN before you rely on it.
The EU-worker route
EU law opens a second door. If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen and you work or run a business in Sweden, the Student Finance Act treats you like a Swedish citizen, and the same goes for your family members. The basis is your right of residence as a worker (see EU citizens in Sweden).
How much work counts? CSN’s guidance:
- Before studying: normally at least 10 hours a week, for at least 10 weeks.
- During studies: keep working at least 10 hours a week.
- If you stopped working: your course must be connected to the work you did in Sweden.
Coming to Sweden only to study does not make you a worker. An EU student who later takes a real part-time job may qualify, though, as long as the hours hold up.
Conditions that keep the money coming
Getting a yes once doesn’t guarantee the next term. Three conditions follow you:
- Pace: you must study at least half-time, for a continuous period of at least three weeks. Less than full-time pays less: 75% or 50% of the full amount.
- Study results: at university you must normally pass 62.5% of the credits you were funded for in your first 40 full-time weeks, then 75%. Fall short and CSN can refuse your next application until you’ve caught up. You keep support already decided.
- Income limit (fribelopp): you can earn up to a limit per calendar half-year (January–June, July–December) without losing anything. Above it, your support is cut by 61% of the excess. CSN can reclaim money already paid if you underestimated, so estimate your half-year income generously when you apply.
Age also matters: from the year you turn 51, the number of loan weeks is rationed, and support ends after the year you turn 60.
Repaying the loan, in Sweden and abroad
The loan is an annuity, and the rules are in the statute:
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Start | The January after at least six months have passed since your last support |
| Length | Up to 25 years, and finished by the year you turn 64 (loans from 2022) or 60 (loans from July 2001 to 2021) |
| Annual amount | Set by CSN each January, designed to rise 2% a year |
| Interest | Set by the government each December; 2.135% for 2026, up from 1.981% |
| Reduction | On application, down to 5% of your income, or 7% from the year you turn 50 |
| Write-off | After the year you turn 71, on death, or with full sickness compensation at the guarantee level |
Extra payments are allowed and shorten the debt.
Moving abroad does not pause any of this. You keep paying your annual amount and can pay by card, direct debit or international bank transfer. Update your address with CSN before you go. If you want the income-based reduction while abroad, you must send certificates of your foreign income; without them you pay the original annual amount plus a surcharge. Unpaid demands from people living abroad go to a debt collection agency, and after reminders a loan can be called in for immediate payment.
Missing a payment costs a SEK 450 reminder fee per reminder and loan. CSN loans also show up in Swedish credit files (see credit checks in Sweden).
What changed in 2026
Policy here has moved fast, and three changes matter:
- Studiestartsstöd is gone. The law on studiestartsstöd, a grant for unemployed adults aged 25 to 60 with short education whom municipalities recruited to adult education, was repealed on 1 January 2026. It still applies only to periods before that date. People in that group now apply for regular studiemedel, with its higher grant at compulsory and upper-secondary level.
- Ukrainian temporary protection now opens CSN, after the first twelve months of permit time.
- The interest rate rose to 2.135% for 2026.
Next on the calendar: from 1 January 2027 the government may write off student loans for police basic training paid from 1 August 2024.
Changed in 2026: studiestartsstöd was abolished on 1 January 2026. Guides written before then still describe it as available.
If you’re mid-career and want to retrain, that is a separate CSN product, the omställningsstudiestöd, covered in LAS and job security.
Practical information
| Item | Amount or rule | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Studiemedel, full-time, per week (2026) | SEK 1,030 grant + SEK 2,368 loan = SEK 3,398 | 2026-10-14 |
| Studiemedel, full-time, per 4 weeks (2026) | SEK 4,120 grant + SEK 9,472 loan = SEK 13,592 | 2026-10-14 |
| Child supplement, one child, per week (2026) | SEK 195 | 2026-10-14 |
| Supplementary loan for those who worked before, from age 25, per week (2026) | SEK 1,172 | 2026-10-14 |
| Loan interest (2026) | 2.135% | 2026-10-14 |
| Handling fee per loan per year | SEK 150 | 2026-10-14 |
| Reminder fee per reminder and loan | SEK 450 | 2026-10-14 |
| Maximum weeks at university | 240 full-time weeks | 2026-10-14 |
Amounts follow the price base amount and change every January; the interest rate is set every December. Check csn.se for the current year.
FAQ
Can international students get CSN?
Almost never. Studiemedel goes to Swedish citizens and to foreigners who live in Sweden with a permanent residence permit and settled here mainly for a reason other than studying. A student who came on a study permit, or as an exchange student, fails that purpose test. EU citizens can qualify through work in Sweden, which is a separate route.
Can EU citizens get Swedish student finance?
Yes, in two main ways. EU workers and self-employed people in Sweden are treated like Swedes: CSN normally expects at least 10 hours of work a week for at least 10 weeks, and continued work during studies. EU citizens with permanent right of residence, usually after five years’ legal residence, qualify too. Coming only to study does not count.
How much is CSN per month in 2026?
Full-time studiemedel is SEK 3,398 a week in 2026, paid in four-week blocks of SEK 13,592. Of that, SEK 4,120 is grant and SEK 9,472 is loan. Amounts follow the price base amount and change every January. Extra child supplements and an additional loan for those who worked before exist.
Do I have to repay CSN if I leave Sweden?
Yes. Moving abroad does not pause repayment: you keep paying your annual amount, which you can do by card, direct debit or international bank transfer. If you want a lower income-based payment you must send certificates of your foreign income. Unpaid demands from people living abroad go to a debt collection agency.
What happened to studiestartsstöd?
It was abolished. The law on studiestartsstöd, a grant for unemployed adults aged 25 to 60 with short education whom municipalities recruited to adult education, was repealed on 1 January 2026. It still applies only to periods before that date. People in that group now apply for regular studiemedel, which includes a higher grant for compulsory and upper-secondary level.
How does CSN repayment work?
Repayment starts the January after at least six months have passed since your last support. CSN sets an annual amount, shown on a statement each January, designed to rise 2% a year and to clear the loan within 25 years or by the year you turn 64. Interest for 2026 is 2.135%. Low earners can apply for an income-based reduction.
Related guides
- Tuition fees in Sweden — what non-EU students pay, since CSN won’t cover it
- EU citizens in Sweden — the right of residence behind the EU-worker route
- Exchange students: the first two weeks — budgeting and paperwork without CSN
- Work permits for non-EU citizens — why a time-limited permit doesn’t open student finance
- Learning Swedish as a newcomer — SFI and komvux, often studied with studiemedel
Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Studiestödslag 1999:1395, Lag 2017:527) and CSN (Centrala studiestödsnämnden) — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.